This Kickstarter project could help audit energy usage in your home
So you want to help the environment, you want to take control of your energy usage, heck, you might even be your home’s own light switch police — but where do you start? You know cutting back on energy usage is part of the solution, but it's hard to know just which things to unplug. A few tech-savvy individuals are looking to tackle this very issue, and have whipped up a Kickstarter project that could help you visual your energy usage more easily.
Glow is a tabletop energy audit device that promises to instantly display your home's energy usage, with the help of a simple sensor that gets place above your electric meter. And you can say goodbye to attempting to read tiny numbers on the box’s screen – Glow uses beautiful color lighting to instantly show how much energy you’re using.
Because color is one of the simplest and fastest ways to communicate, the entire family can pick up Glow’s message instantly. The colors show measurements in real time, ranging from a cool green when energy usage is in check, to a warm yellow and red when usage spikes.
You can also program Glow to help keep electricity bills where they need to be, by setting a budget in the app so it can alert you when you're usage is getting close to your threshold.
Although we're not so sure how we feel about plugging in another device in the name of using less energy, the idea behind Glow is certainly cool. Is Glow an energy tracker or a sweet decoration? The answer could be both.
Leah Stodart is a Philadelphia-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable where she covers and tests essential home tech like vacuums and TVs, plus eco-friendly hacks. Her ever-evolving experience in these categories comes in clutch when making recommendations on how to spend your money during shopping holidays like Black Friday, which Leah has been covering for Mashable since 2017.
